


All You Had To Do Was Stay

by OilssssssAndStuff



Category: Faking It (TV 2014)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-03-12 20:41:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3354608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OilssssssAndStuff/pseuds/OilssssssAndStuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been ten years. Ten years since Amy had last seen her at their high school graduation. Ten years since she chose Liam Booker instead of her. Ten years since Karma Ashcroft decided that all the plans they had made for the future were no longer what she wanted. Ten years since Amy's heart was ripped from her chest. Now, Karma is back in Amy's life in the most unexpected of ways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have six chapters for this story so far that are posted on my fanfiction . net account. I will be posting the next chapter of this hopefully tomorrow. Let me know what you think!

_Amy's POV_

The morning sun came in through the blinds and woke me. I fluttered my eyes open and stretched out in the massive king size bed, blindly searching for the naked body that I knew was next to mine. My hand came into contact with a hip and I pulled her into me, nuzzling into her neck in the process. I softly kissed her neck and whispered in her ear, "good morning, Dev."

"Mmm, morning baby," Devon replied and kissed my forehead. It was a peaceful way to wake up, something I don't think I would ever get tired of. Waking up with Devon, my girlfriend of a little over two years, in my arms was one of the best feelings. She looked at me with her beautiful green eyes and smiled. "How'd you sleep?"

"Perfectly," I grinned. "Do you want breakfast? I can make you something."

Devon taught me how to cook. When I lived on my own I mostly lived off of cereal, take-out, and pasta. Devon loves to cook. She came from a wealthy family, so her parents often left her and her siblings alone, so she taught herself how to cook because she never liked having people wait on her like her parents do. I've never met her family because they're always on business trips and often not even in the same country, plus she isn't very close with them, but from what she has told me they don't seem like the nicest people.

"I'd love that. Could you make me pancakes?" Her eyes widened and her smile got big at the thought of pancakes. She was like a little kid sometimes, but that was one of the things I loved most about her. She was the first person I let my guard down to since Karma and all the drama that happened in high school. I don't know if I'd ever be able to love her as much as I loved Karma, but I think I could get pretty damn close.

"Of course I can make you pancakes," I said. "Get dressed and I'll have them ready in a little while."

I got out of bed and put a pair of sweatpants and a tank top on. I went to the kitchen and started preparing the pancakes for Devon and I. I had put some music on and was in my own little world while cooking. Sunday's were my favorite because it was the day that neither of us worked and we could just spend the day together. We either sat at home and relaxed or went out on dates. The thing I love the most about Devon is how creative she is. She's always finding new dates and adventures to go on, and I'm never disappointed.

A few minutes later she came up behind me and smacked my ass while I was singing along to the music. I turned around and quickly kissed her on the cheek before I grabbed two plates and loaded them both with pancakes and brought them to the table. We were eating in a comfortable silence for a couple minutes. Devon caught my attention by clearing her throat and nervously smiling at me, which was a sign that she had a lot on her mind.

"What's wrong?" I asked with a mouthful of pancakes. I was a bit nervous about what she was about to say. She looked stressed, and usually she was very carefree, so whatever was on her mind had to be big.

"So, my parents are having a party type thing," she started. "It's probably going to be stuck up snobs spewing bullshit the whole time, but they're making me go... they want you to go also."

"Me?" I asked, taken aback. Every time I've heard a conversation between Devon and her parents it mostly ended in arguing. Apparently Devon was a disappointment to the family for not taking on the family business, plus she was gay which was even worse in her parents' eyes. I didn't know her parents but I already didn't like them because of the way they hurt her. After conversations with her parents she is always upset and locks herself in her study for a few hours, and it angers me the way they treat her. "Why do they want me to go? Don't they hate me because I'm not wealthy and I don't have a penis?"

"Well, yes," she chuckled. "But you should meet them. You'll probably hate them, I know I do, but you should still meet them. They've been nagging me for a while now to bring you around. I think they're surprised you've stuck with me for so long."

"Of course I'll meet them," I said. "I live for these kinds of awkward events. When is this party?"

"It's next Sunday. It's in LA though, so I figured we could stay for a week and take a little vacation while we're at it. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah, that sounds perfect," I said, even though I wasn't very excited to meet her family. I had a feeling it was going to be a very eventful trip.

* * *

_One week later_.

We arrived in LA around 8am on Saturday. We got to LA a day early so we had enough time to get settled in without being thrown into the craziness of Devon's family. We got a rental car and drove to the beautiful hotel where we would be staying for the week. Our room was huge and had an amazing view of the city from the balcony. It was bigger and nicer than my old apartment was before I moved in with Devon.

"Babe, wanna take a nap? I'm so tired," Devon asked. She looked utterly exhausted. We got to the airport at the crack of dawn and due to her fear of flying she didn't get any sleep on the plane ride from New York to LA.

"A nap sounds just about perfect right now."

We climbed into the bed and she cuddled into my side, resting her head on my shoulder. I ran my fingers through her dirty blonde hair, which I knew she absolutely loved, and listened as her breathing evened out and she fell asleep. It didn't take long at all for her to pass out.

About an hour passed and I was still holding her in my arms as she slept. I was just about to fall asleep myself when there was a loud knock at the door. She jumped in her sleep and woke up from the knocking.

"Lay back down, babe," I whispered. "I'll go see who it is."

I walked to the door and opened it, expecting it to be some employee from the hotel, but I couldn't have been more wrong. There were two people standing in front of me, two people I never thought I would ever see again. Liam Booker and Karma Ashcroft.

I heard a sharp intake of breath from Karma. I stood there in silence. I couldn't form words. My heart was beating so loud that I was sure they could hear it. My stomach was doing somersaults and I felt like I was going to be sick. I was in a state of complete shock.

"This has to be a mistake," Liam chuckled, breaking the awkward silence and nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "You see, we were looking for my sister Devon, but we probably just went to the wrong room."

I couldn't breathe. How the fuck was Devon Roberts,  _my_  Devon, siblings with Liam Booker? It didn't make sense. I felt like someone just roundhouse kicked me in the face. My head was throbbing trying to process it all.

I looked at Karma for the first time since opening the door,  _really_  looked at her. Her face was drained of color, and she looked as though she had seen a ghost. Well, I was just as surprised as she was.

"D-Devon?" I stuttered, still trying to process everything that was going on right now. "You have the right room. She's here. I'm her girlfriend."

I wasn't speaking to Liam though. I was looking at Karma. I couldn't stop looking at her. She was still fucking beautiful, if anything she was more beautiful than she was in high school, and I hated her for it. I had secretly hoped I'd run into her at our high school reunion and she'd be ugly, but I knew that would never happen. I could still wish though...

* * *

**_10 Years Earlier_ **

_"Amy Raudenfeld," Principal Penelope called my name to get my diploma._

_I tried to muster up a smile because my mom was in the audience taking pictures, but it probably looked incredibly forced. This was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of my life, finally getting out of this hell-hole of a town and making something of myself, but I couldn't find it in my heart to care. The one person I wanted to share this moment with hadn't spoken to me in three months. After Liam told Karma that we slept together the night of my mom's wedding, she hated both of us. Well, she still hates me, but somehow she managed to forgive Liam, which hurt more than I was willing to admit. She could forgive a boy that she'd only known for a few months, but couldn't forgive her best friend since we were little. I had tried to gain her forgiveness. I left her heartfelt letters in her mailbox and tried to get her alone so we could talk, but she didn't listen to any of it. I don't even know if she had read my letters. Every day I spent without speaking to Karma, I could feel myself fading away. I love her more than life itself, and if she only let me explain myself we could put all of this behind us._

_I walked across the stage and shook principal Penelope's hand. I turned to walk back to my seat and I saw Shane and Lauren sending me worried looks, but I just ignored them. I didn't try to reassure them that I was okay because I wasn't and they knew that. I hadn't been myself since Karma decided she didn't want me in her life. I barely made it through the last semester of senior year. Today was my last chance to get Karma back. If I didn't, I'd lose her forever._

_I met Karma's eye as I walked back to my seat. I smiled at her and she immediately looked away. I felt like crying. I couldn't be here and pretend to be happy because the only person who could make me happy is her._

_After the ceremony I pushed through the crowd to find Karma. This was my last chance. I saw her red hair and I pushed a few more people to get to her._

_"Karma," I called out and grabbed her wrist to stop her. She turned and looked at me, her face completely clear of emotion. "Please, just give me one chance to talk to you."_

_"Fine," she muttered and that's all I needed. I pulled her to an area away from all the people._

_"First off, I'm sorry. I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am," I said. I looked at her and I could feel tears forming in my eyes. This was the closest she's been to me in three months and I was just happy that she was allowing me to speak to her. I couldn't live my life without her. I needed to tell her that, I needed her to understand. "That night with Liam, I have no excuse for it. It was completely wrong and I know that. I was hurt and sad and angry, so my solution was to make you feel that pain as well. I'm not going to lie to you, I did it to spite you, but you have to know I regretted it immediately after what happened."_

_I grabbed her hand and held it in mine. I was crying now, full on sobbing. I could see tears streaming down her face as well._

_"Karma, I love you. I just want my best friend back. I'll do anything," I sobbed._

_"I can't," Karma mumbled. She looked so sad and I just wanted to wrap her in my arms and take all her pain away. Even though she has been the cause of my pain for months, I would do it all over again if it meant she was happy. "It's not about forgiving you about the situation with Liam. I've already forgiven you. But I can't be with Liam and have you in my life, it just wouldn't work."_

_"So you're choosing him." It wasn't a question. I knew without a doubt that she was done with me. She was choosing the guy over her best friend, and it felt as though she was ripping my heart out of my chest with her bare hands. I was drowning, but in a way I deserved it. I shouldn't have done what I did. It wasn't her fault that she didn't love me the way I love her, and I shouldn't have punished her for that._

_She squeezed my hand and pulled me in for a hug._

_"Goodbye, Amy..."_

* * *

"Amy? Who's at the door?" I heard Devon ask from behind me, pulling me out of my thoughts of the past and bringing me back to the present.

"It's your brother, Liam," I said and cleared my throat. I looked down and noticed Karma toying with the ring on her left ring finger. I felt like I was back in high school and Liam Booker was flaunting Karma in front of my face all over again. I no longer felt jealousy and anger and pain, though. It took me years but I was done regretting the past. I moved on and I was in love and Karma wasn't going to stand in my way anymore. "And his wife."

"Liam?!" She shouted. She pulled the door open and immediately wrapped her brother in a hug. Once she released Liam, she moved on to pull Karma into a tight embrace. "Come in, come in. I was just napping because we had a long flight."

"No, Dev, you can go back to sleep," Liam said. "We can come around later."

"Nonsense. Get your asses in here." She grabbed both of their arms and pulled them into our room. I trailed behind them as they entered the living room. Devon walked over to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. "I feel so rude I haven't even introduced you guys. Karma, Liam, meet my lovely girlfriend. This is Amy."

"Yeah, we already know Amy." Karma spoke for the first time since I opened the door.

"Really?" Devon asked, surprised. She looked at me and asked, "how do you know Liam and Karma?"

"Karma was my best friend in high school," I muttered. Her eyes widened in realization, I knew she'd catch on. I told her all about how I fell in love with my best friend but she chose a guy over me. I just never mentioned any names. I focused my attention back to Karma and said bitterly, "we kind of lost touch once we went away to college."

Devon gently squeezed my hip and that tiny gesture said so much. She was making sure I was okay, and saying that she was here for me, and offering to send them on their way so I could have time to think. I gave her a reassuring squeeze back and smiled softly at her. I was okay, just confused. I needed a little while to process things, but I was going to be okay.

I just had a feeling this week in LA was going to change a lot of things.


	2. Chapter 2

After an awkward few minutes, Liam and Karma decided they should go, and I was extremely thankful. I had taken a seat on the couch once they left and I was lost in my thoughts. I knew I owed Devon answers, and I too had many questions that needed answering, but I needed to gather my thoughts before the questions came flying my way. Devon sat down next to me on the couch and intertwined our fingers. She knew that I'd start talking when I was ready so she sat patiently and waited, and in that moment I could not have loved her more because the last thing I needed was someone pestering me with questions.

"You and Liam have different last names," I said. It was the one thing I was the most confused about. "Why is that?"

"My family is...complicated," she began. She bit her lip as she thought of what to say. "I'm Liam's and Wes' half sibling. My mom got pregnant pretty young and my dad was some immature guy who never had the balls to even hold me in his arms. I've never met him, and my grandparents helped my mom raise me. I took my mother's maiden name. My mom's husband now, Jason, is Liam's and Wes' dad and they took his last name. That's why we have different last names."

Now that she explained that it made a bit more sense. I can't believe I am dating Liam Booker's older sister. Why was my life so fucking weird? It was actually kind of funny, in a sick and twisted way. I started chuckling to myself.

"Why are you laughing?" Devon asked, confused, but smiling nonetheless.

"What are the odds?" I giggled. This was too good. Shane and Lauren were going to eat this up when I told them what happened. Shane and Liam lost contact about a year after we graduated high school, and Lauren, well she was never even in contact with Karma and Liam. "What are the odds of my girlfriend being the sister of the guy who stole the girl I loved in high school?"

"It is kind of ironic," she laughed. Her laugh was my favorite sound, it was like heaven to my ears. Her smile made me smile even when I'm in the worst mood. "Can I ask you some questions now... or is it too soon?"

"You can ask me anything, babe," I told her. She deserved answers and I wasn't going to hide them from her. I needed to get everything out in the open so we could move on from this weird reunion between Karma and I. I wasn't about to let it ruin my trip or my relationship.

"What really happened between you and Karma? I know the gist of it, you secretly harbored feelings for her and you had to watch as she threw herself at who I now know to be my little brother, and then she chose him over you, but what's the whole story? How did she find out about your feelings and what happened to make her choose Liam over you?" She questioned. She looked like she genuinely cared about this story. She wasn't acting jealous that a girl I loved in the past suddenly came back into my life, she genuinely just wanted to know how it had affected me.

"Well, it's an insanely long story, but I'll try to sum it up quickly," I said. "Karma wanted to be popular more than anything in the world. She made up all these schemes to get us to fit in at our school, but nothing worked. We went to a party and the lovely man Shane assumed we were a couple and outed us to everyone at the party, and it spread like wildfire and we were suddenly the coolest, cutest 'couple' in school. We were popular, and that's everything Karma wanted, and being her best friend and seeing her happy made me happy. She thought it would be a good idea to continue with the act, and I went along with it. We were faking it, well at least I thought I was until I kissed her in front of the whole school so they wouldn't suspect that we were faking it, and after that kiss the feelings came. I was confused about whether I liked girls or boys, all I knew is that kissing Karma felt amazing, even if it was just an act."

I lost myself in the memories. I remembered how miserable yet how great it was back in high school. I was happy now, though, even if I did sort of wish things had been different. I was over it all and I wasn't going back to being miserable again, not when I had no reason to be. Yeah, bumping into Karma made me feel odd and made all the memories I tried to forget come flooding back to me, but that's history and I want to focus on what is happening now.

"While my attention was focused on Karma, her attention was elsewhere, and that's where Liam comes in. He was the hottest guy in school, and Karma was always one for going after the best. I had to watch her sneak off with him and see them making out in front of my face all the time. It killed me. I confided in Shane and told him everything, and he helped me a lot with trying to figure everything out. I was okay with faking it in front of everyone with Karma because it was the one time where I could show my true feelings without her thinking they were real. Everything was fine until my mom's wedding." I took a deep breath before continuing with the story. "I had to make a speech and I was so nervous for it, but Karma told me to just speak from the heart. I went up to say my speech and I was a stuttering mess, but then I looked into the crowd and saw Karma and everything turned out okay. I spoke about how my mom was so lucky to fall in love with her best friend and how I would kill to be able to be with my best friend for the rest of my life, and Karma knew then that I had feelings. I felt so good about my speech, but then I saw Liam climb out from under a table. My mom's wedding was supposed to be just my night with Karma, just the two of us, and she snuck him in and I was insanely jealous. After the wedding I confessed my love to her and she said she loved me also, but just not like that. I drowned my sorrows in alcohol, and apparently something went down between her and Liam as well, and he was doing the same as me. We ended up drunkenly sleeping together. Karma found out and hated both of us for months, but she managed to forgive him and now they're living happily ever after. She told me that she couldn't be with Liam if I was in the picture, so she chose him."

Devon was silent for a while after I finished speaking. Her eyes were wide as she tried to process everything I had told her, and she also looked kind of angry. "She's a fucking dumb bitch," she muttered just loud enough for me to hear. She looked up at me with her fiery eyes and scowled, "how could she do that to her best friend? I love Liam and all, but you did so much for her and she just threw that all away. I mean, it's good for me because I would never have met you if that wasn't the case, but I just don't get how she could do that to her best friend."

"I know," I sighed. "It killed me, but what's done is done."

"Do you still have feelings for her?" Now she looked insecure. She was looking down at her hands and not making eye contact with me and my heart broke. I never wanted her to feel like that, ever. "I understand if you do. I mean, you guys have a lot of history together and it would be impossible to forget that."

I shifted closer to her and lifted her chin up so she was looking at me. Her emerald green eyes bore into mine and I could see so much love and passion in them. I kissed her because that was the only way I could think of to convey my feelings for her. I kissed her to ease her mind. I kissed her because I love her and I wasn't about to let this go. My hand grabbed her hip and pulled her closer to me. She climbed on top of me so she was straddling my hips and I held her as close as possible without breaking the kiss. One of my hands was tangled in her hair and the other arm I had wrapped around her waist, and I wasn't about to let her go any time soon.

"I fucking love you," I breathed out as soon as we parted for air. I looked deep into her eyes as I spoke to her. "Karma was my first love and she broke my heart. I'll always love her, but I am no longer in love with her. For a long time I thought Karma was the only person I'd ever be able to be happy with, but I've learned that's not the case. She's my past, Devon. It's you. You're the only one I want. You're my future. You are my happiness. Does that answer your question?"

Her lips came crashing into mine and I smiled into the kiss. Her hands were in my hair and my hands were on her hips, pulling her closer to me. Things with Devon just felt so right. There was no other way to describe it. She was everything I never knew I was looking for. I slipped my tongue into her mouth and the moan that elicited from that action made my skin burn and I wanted nothing more than to bring her to the bedroom and shut the world out for the entire week we were here.

"I love you so much," she whispered against my lips once we broke the kiss. "I love you and I want nothing more than to have my way with you right now, but we have to unpack."

I chuckled because she was just so fucking adorable. She was such a neat-freak and everything had to have a place and be perfect. Whenever we took trips or something, unpacking was the first thing we had to do, which meant that she unpacked while I tried to distract her in every way possible until she'd get so annoyed I was actually scared for my life.

"Babe," I whined. Whenever I went on vacations as a kid I would never unpack and live out of my suit case the whole trip."I wanted to go swimming in the pool downstairs. I want to see you in a bikini."

"You can go down and I'll meet you there," she replied. "It won't take me as long without you here pestering me anyways."

"Fine," I huffed and kissed her cheek.

Once she climbed off of my lap, I went to the bedroom to change into my bikini. I gave Devon one last peck on the lips before leaving to go down to the hotel's pool. I couldn't wait to swim because California is a lot different than the weather in New York that I've grown used to.

I took the elevator down to the ground floor and walked into the pool area, and as soon as I walked in I immediately wanted to leave. Karma was there placing her things on a chair. I was hoping I could sneak out without her spotting me.

"Amy!" I heard her call out as I was halfway out the door. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath before turning around to face her. She shyly smiled at me and muttered, "hey."

I felt as though I was in an alternate universe. Not once have I ever seen Karma look so shy. Not once have I ever seen her confidence falter. Never had I ever imagined that one day we would meet each other again and say a quick "hello" before going on with the rest of our lives. That's not how we planned it, yet here we are, looking at each other trying to figure out how this all happened.

"Could I, um, talk to you?" She asked quietly.

"Why?" I responded coldly. I didn't want to speak to her. I didn't want to be anywhere near her. I wanted her out of my life again and I wanted to go back to the blissful life Devon and I had.

"I just thought it would be nice to catch up."

"Catch up?" I laughed bitterly. I was angry. Angry because she thought that she could come back into my life when I had everything planned out and completely ruin it all. She thought she could come back into my life and I would welcome her with open arms and go back to following her around like a puppy. Well, I wasn't that person anymore and I wasn't going to let her do that to me again. "Really? You want to catch up? Why do I owe you the chance to 'catch up'?"

"I-I just thought-"

"You thought what? That I'd be so utterly happy to see you again? That we could be best friends again? That I could forget all the pain and heartache that you caused me all those years ago?" I was practically screaming and I was so thankful nobody else was in the pool area to hear any of this. "Fuck that. I'm not falling for all that again." I spun on my heels and started to make my way out of the pool area again. I would rather be upstairs unpacking with Devon than be near Karma for another second.

"There's not a day that's gone by in the past ten years where I haven't thought of you," she called out.

"What?" I snapped and turned back around to face her.

"The day after graduation. I regretted pushing you away and telling you I chose Liam. I wanted nothing more than to be by your side. I knew the minute you walked away from me that I made a mistake," She confessed with tears in her eyes. I could see the sincerity in her eyes but that didn't make it any better. It just made things worse.

"So why didn't you pick up the phone and call me? Why is it that you're standing in front of me right now, ten years later, as Liam Booker's wife? You knew that I would have taken you back immediately, yet here you stand, still as much of a coward as you were back then." I was no longer yelling. I wasn't angry anymore. I felt nothing. I felt nothing for the woman standing in front of me and I felt nothing when I thought back to the memories of high school. I sighed, "just please do me a favor. If you ever cared about me, you'd do a lot of good if you just stayed away from me."

With that said, I left the pool area and left Karma, hoping she would listen and keep her distance from me.


	3. Chapter 3

Legs. Long legs. Tan legs. Toned legs. Long, tan, toned legs. That's all I could see. It's as though her legs went on for days.

Devon had just emerged from the bathroom. She had just finished getting ready for the horrible family party we had to go to today. Let me just say, she looked fucking beautiful. My mouth had gone dry and I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing. I felt like the luckiest person in the world to have this beautiful girl be all mine.

She had a skin tight, gold dress on that fell a few inches above her knees. The dress showed off so much cleavage and in that moment I could have died from happiness because although this party was bound to be fucking awful, just looking at Devon would prevent me from killing myself at this party. She had red lipstick on and did a smokey eye look, which made her green eyes really stand out. Her long, dirty blonde hair was curled and fell past her shoulders. This girl was going to be the death of me. I knew it.

I, on the other hand, had a white dress on of similar lengths to Devon's dress. It was strapless so it showed some cleavage, but nothing too scandalous. My hair was wavy and I had a champagne color lipstick on. I wore red high heels that made my feet ache already and I didn't know how on earth I was supposed to wear these all day long.

I tried to speak, tried to tell Devon how beautiful she looked, but no words could come. I was totally speechless. How was it even possible for her to be so gorgeous?

She strutted over to me and put a finger under my chin to close my mouth. She leaned in close and practically purred, "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

"You look- wow," I breathed out.

"I must say, you look pretty fucking hot as well," she said. "Now let's go before my parents rip my head off for being late."

We took the elevator to the ground floor of the hotel and as soon as we exited the elevator to get our rental car, we bumped into Liam and Karma. I rolled my eyes and sighed. I felt as though every time I turned around Karma was there and I couldn't escape her. I know we were going to the same party and I was bound to see them, but I was hoping I could avoid it for a little while longer.

She was in a lace, teal dress and her hair was down with loose curls. Liam was in a tuxedo with that stupid, shit-eating grin he always seemed to have plastered on his face. God, he bothered me.

Devon wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to her, and I knew part of it was to make me feel better and another part was to send a message to Karma. That I'm hers and she lost her chance, and I was more than okay with it because maybe then Karma would back off and let me be happy for once. I had told Devon about my run in with her when I went down to the pool area yesterday, and although Devon doesn't trust her, she trusts me and trusts I can handle it on my own without having to threaten Karma to back off.

They both turned and saw us and I could see Karma visibly stiffen, but Liam seemed completely clueless to his obviously uncomfortable wife. He looked at me and Devon and asked, "are you two ready for this disaster waiting to happen?"

"Ugh, don't talk about it," Devon groaned. "I'm hoping to get so incredibly drunk that I don't remember a thing."

"Amy, have you met our parents yet?" Liam asked me.

"Nope, but I hear they're just lovely," I replied with an eye roll. I was not looking forward to meeting them at all. I didn't know how long I was going to be able to bear being around her parents when I knew how they treated her.

He chuckled, "yeah, they're just great. Right, Karma?"

I looked to Karma and saw her glaring at Devon, but when she heard Liam say her name she quickly snapped out of it. She looked at him and said," I'm sorry, sweetie. I zoned out, what were you saying?"

"We were talking about how Amy hasn't met the parents yet and how 'lovely' they are."

She scowled and I could see in her eyes that she hated them too. She groaned, "don't get me started on your parents. I don't want to think about them until absolutely necessary."

"Hey, I have an idea," Liam spoke up with a grin on his face. "How about we ride to this party together?"

He really was clueless. I heard Karma inhale sharply and her eyes widened. Apparently she didn't like that idea very much, and neither did I. I was just about to respond to Liam's question when Devon spoke up.

"No, Liam, it's fine. We weren't planning on staying very long so we were just going to take our car."

"Come on," he whined. "I haven't seen you in forever, and I'm sure Karma and Amy would love to catch up. Plus, we weren't going to stay long either, so we could all leave together and complain together on the way home."

"We have all week to see each other," Devon replied. "I wanted to talk to Amy privately on the way there anyways, so we're just going to take our car."

"Fine," Liam pouted. "But we're going out to dinner or something this week. I'm holding you to that."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. We'll see you both in a little while," Devon said and grabbed my hand. We walked out of the hotel and went to our car. "I love my brother, but he is so clueless."

We reached the car and Devon opened the passenger door to allow me to get in. She walked around to the other side and sat in the driver's seat. She turned the car on and began our short drive to the party.

I was incredibly nervous for this party. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I already knew her parents weren't going to like me, but I desperately wanted them to. Maybe I could open their eyes to their ignorance and show them what an amazing person their daughter had become. However, I knew that the odds of that happening were very, very slim.

I turned to look at Devon and suddenly became nervous. She looked angry. Her knuckles were practically white from how tight she was holding the steering wheel and she was frowning while concentrating on the road.

"Babe, what's wrong? What are you thinking about?" I questioned.

"I'm thinking about all the awful things that could go wrong at this party," she muttered. She quickly glanced over at me before focusing her attention back to the road. "My parents, they might do some really terrible things at this party and it could scare you away. I'm afraid you're going to get scared away because of them."

I was overwhelmed with love for her in that moment. Nothing that her parents do at this party is going to scare me off. They were not going to be able to change the way I feel about Devon no matter how much they wish they could.

"Dev, nothing your parents do will affect how I feel about you. They could hand me a million dollars in cash and tell me to get lost and I wouldn't take it. Their actions and how I feel about them does not reflect on how I feel about you. I love you. I'm not going anywhere," I told her, hoping it would quell her fears at least for a little while. It seemed to do the trick because she began to smile.

Soon we were at the party and I felt my heart pounding in my chest. I was so nervous. We parked the car and headed inside and we were immediately spotted by Devon's parents, who excused themselves from their conversation and came walking towards us.

"Devon, darling," her mother said in what I assumed was supposed to be a loving tone, but it just sounded forced. She kissed her daughter on both cheeks and stepped back to get a look at Devon. She looked her up and down and I saw her eyes briefly flash with anger. "You look-"

"Like a tramp," her step-dad gruffly muttered. "How do you expect people to take you seriously looking like that."

I tensed after hearing how he spoke to her. I was overcome with anger and hatred for these people, who haven't even acknowledged my presence. I clenched my fists and had the strongest urge to punch this guy in the face. Who the hell did he think he was? How did her mother allow him to speak to her daughter like that? I was about to speak up when I felt Devon's reassuring hand on my back.

"Wow, Matthew. I see you're as charming as ever. It's lovely to see you, too," Devon said in a sickeningly sweet voice. She wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close to her. "This is Amy, by the way. You know, my girlfriend."

I smiled slightly when I saw her parents frown and look away uncomfortably. I looked over and saw a smug smile plastered on Devon's face.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, I need a drink."

Devon dragged me away from her parents and brought me to the bar. She ordered two glasses of champagne, one for each of us. When the bartender placed the drinks down in front of us, Devon took hers and immediately downed it, then proceeded to order another.

"Slow down there, Dev," I giggled. "I don't need you puking your brains out in the car."

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I know I don't usually drink that often but they just infuriate me so much. I need something to help me loosen up."

I was about to say something when I heard Liam say from behind us, "already at the bar? Were they that bad for you?"

"Oh you know, your father said I look like a tramp within the first 30 seconds of seeing him and then I made both of them extremely uncomfortable with my gayness," Devon responded. "The usual, you know?"

"Did they say anything to you, Amy?" He asked.

"Nope," I replied.

"We were literally talking to them for about a minute before I got a headache and needed to leave," Devon muttered before throwing back the rest of her drink. I grabbed her hand and gave it a soft squeeze. She smiled softly at me and leaned over to kiss my cheek.

Hopefully the rest of the party went by with no drama, but I doubt that was going to happen.

* * *

For most of the party we sat at the bar with Liam and Karma, but Devon and I paid little attention to them. We were in our own little world. I could feel Karma staring, more like glaring, at us from the other side of the bar but I didn't care. All I cared about was Devon's hand on my thigh, the sexy way she'd raise her eyebrow when I said something sassy, the way she pressed her lips to the glass of champagne.

"Devon, honey!" Our peaceful moment was interrupted by Devon's mother calling her over to a group of snooty, rich people. Devon finished her glass of champagne and stood up from her seat on shaky legs. I wrapped my arm around her waist to keep her steady and we walked over to the group her mother was in. "Darling, you remember Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, right? You dated their son back in high school."

"We dated for like two weeks, mom," Devon muttered.

"Oh Devon, Michael still talks about you. I'm sure he would love to catch up with you," Mrs. Jackson smiled. Mrs. Jackson focused her attention on me. "And who is this?"

"Oh!" Devon exclaimed, smiling wickedly. "This is Amy Raudenfeld, she's my-"

"Amy is Devon's business partner," Mrs. Booker said, cutting Devon of from her sentence.

I glanced over at Devon and saw her glaring at her mother, and I had a feeling her anger and the amount of alcohol she had drank was going to cause her to speak her mind. An angry Devon was not someone you wanted to be around. She was the type of person who was always in such high spirits and had a way of making everyone around her feel happy, so when she was angry she completely blew up.

"You know what, mom," Devon spit out venomously, cutting her mother off from whatever bullshit she was talking about. Mrs. Booker looked over with wide eyes from her daughter's tone of voice. "Go fuck yourself!" Devon's raised voice caused everybody to look over. "I have spent my entire life getting belittled by you and your stupid fucking husband, and I am done. Amy is my girlfriend. This beautiful girl comes home to cuddle in bed with meevery night. I am gay, and you need to fucking get over yourself. I am a successful, gay, woman. I have my own successful clothing line and celebrities ask me to design their clothes every day. And guess what, I did that all on my own. I created this booming business without your help. I do not need you. And I'm done putting up with your shit."

I couldn't help but stare at Devon in awe. She was finally breaking free from her controlling family and I couldn't have been more proud of her. I knew she spent so much of her life unhappy because of her family, and she was finally taking a stand.

I saw out of the corner of my eye Matthew grabbing Devon's wrists and her struggling against his tight hold.

"Get the fuck off of me!" She yelled as she attempted to break free. I saw the rage in his eyes and I was overcome by fear that he would hurt her. I didn't know this man, all I knew was that he made Devon's life a living hell.

Everything happened so fast. One second I was standing there watching the scene unfold, then the next, my hand was aching and Matthew was unconscious on the ground. Devon was looking at me with a mixture of shock and pride. The air in the room was so tense. I just knocked out Devon's step-dad. Holy shit, I felt like was going to be sick.

Someone grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the room, and once we were away from the crowd I noticed it was Liam and Karma who pulled Devon and I out. Suddenly I was spun around and felt soft lips pressed against mine, hands tangled in my hair and pushing me up against a wall. Devon was kissing me with so much passion it left me breathless. I grabbed her hips and pulled her closer into me, my nails digging into her hip bones. She bit my bottom lip and gently tugged on it before pulling away, looking at me with so much love and lust in her eyes.

"I have never found you more sexy and never loved you more than I did in that moment," she whispered against my lips. "I cannot believe you just knocked Matthew out."

"I-I don't even remember doing it. I just remembered you struggling in his grasp, and then next thing I know he was on the ground," I responded. "I can't believe I did that."

"That was totally badass," she grinned. She gently held the hand I used to hit Matthew in her hands and ran her fingers over the bruised hand. "Come on, Mike Tyson. Let's get you home and get some ice on this."

We turned back to Liam and Karma. Karma was looking down at the ground and I thought I could see tears forming, but I shrugged it off. She was probably pissed at Devon's little display of affection. Liam was smiling happily, unaware of his wife's unhappiness.

"Amy, that was so awesome! I couldn't even believe it. You did something I've always wanted to do, nice job," Liam said and gave me a high five. He nudged Karma with his elbow to get her attention. "Wasn't that so cool, Karma?"

She quickly blinked back her tears and forced a smile, "yeah, it was really awesome."

"Well, guys," Devon spoke up. "It's been fun but I should probably get Amy home so she can put some ice on this."

I looked down at my hand and for the first time I noticed how swollen and bruised it was. I just noticed how badly it hurt now that the adrenaline from the situation wore off. I had no idea I was capable of hitting somebody so hard I'd knock them out.

"Damn, Amy. Maybe you should think about partaking in a career in boxing," Liam chuckled. As much as I wanted to hate him, his goofiness was kind of charming. "We'll see you guys later, have a nice night."

Devon and I walked to our car. I was incredibly happy this party was over. Now Devon and I could have a relaxing vacation with no more drama from her parents.


	4. Chapter 4

This was heaven. It had to be. There was nothing better than hearing the moans and gasps escaping Devon's lips just from kissing her, I didn't even have to touch her to elicit these sounds. It was like music to my ears.

I had her hands pinned to the bed and our still clothed bodies were pressed against each other. My lips trailed from her lips, down her jawline, to her throat. I found her pulse point and sucked hard, which I knew would definitely leave a mark that she would probably yell at me for later, but right now she was moaning in my ear and bucking her hips up into mine and everything was perfect. One of her hands broke loose from my hold and she tangled it in my hair and pulled me back up to crash our lips together in a fiery kiss.

My tongue darted into her mouth, caressing hers and evoking a deep moan. All I wanted was to feel her body against mine. Not bothering to undo the buttons of her shirt, I ripped it open, sending buttons scattering all over the hotel bedroom. My hands immediately wandered to her bra-clad breasts to massage them. I pushed the material of what was left of her shirt off of her shoulders. My hands slid behind her back to unhook her bra, and she arched her back up to help with the process.

Once her breasts were free from her bra, I trailed my lips down her body until I reached them. I swirled my tongue around the nub while using my hand to massage the opposite one. I glanced up to look at her and the sight I saw was breathtaking. Her eyes were rolled back and her mouth was open slightly as she sucked in deep breaths. Her hair was a bit messy due to my hands being tangled in her long locks. She was absolutely gorgeous.

I raked my nails down her sides, sending a shiver down her spine and causing her to buck her hips up into mine. I trailed my lips back up her body and kissed her. She swiped her tongue against my bottom lip and I immediately parted my lips to give her access into my mouth. Her tongue brushed against mine and I moaned into her mouth. I wrapped my hand around her neck to deepen the kiss and pull her closer to me.

"I need you to fuck me right now," she panted once our kiss was broken. She tangled her fingers in my hair and tugged me so her mouth was by my ear. "Take me, baby. Fuck me like this is the last time you'll ever get the chance."

With that said, I made quick work of her jeans and panties, pulling them off in one swift motion. My only thought was to have this beautiful woman screaming my name so loud the entire fucking hotel could hear. I took my clothes off just as fast. Within seconds I had two fingers plunged inside her (using the hand that wasn't swollen), and the sound that erupted from her throat practically killed me. Her nails dug into my back and I was too focused on the pleasure I wanted to give her to care about the pain.

"Fuck, Amy!" She moaned, grabbing a handful of my hair and pulling me in for a searing kiss. We created a steady rhythm of me thrusting into her and her bucking her hips into my hand. She bit down on my bottom lip, a little harder than I think she meant to because she drew blood, as I inserted a third finger.

Our skin was soaked with sweat and I knew she was close by the way her walls clenched around my fingers and how heavy her breathing was. I used my thumb to rub circles on her clit to push her over the edge. She wrapped her legs around my hips and used them to push me deeper inside her as she came. Her nails dug into my back and this time I knew she definitely broke skin. Her back arched off the bed as the waves of pleasure ripped through her body. Her legs shook and her chest heaved as she sucked in deep breaths of air.

I pulled my fingers out when I knew her orgasm was finished. I pecked her lips gently before rolling over and pulling her into my side. Her legs naturally tangled together with mind and she wrapped an arm around my waist.

"I really fucking love you," she sighed happily after a few minutes of silence. Before I knew what was happening, she had rolled over so she was straddling my waist and pinning my hands to the bed. She grinned deviously, "now it's your turn."

 _Yeah, this was definitely heaven_ , I thought as she crashed her lips into mine.

* * *

A few hours later I woke up when I heard a knock on the door. I sat up in bed, holding the sheets against my naked body, and looked over to see Devon still sound asleep. I slid quietly out of bed so I didn't wake her and threw on one of Devon's silk robes. I walked over to the mirror in our hotel room and saw that my hair was a total mess, I had several bruises on my neck and chest, and there was a small cut on my lip from Devon bit my lip too hard.

I slowly made my way to the door and I wasn't surprised to see Liam and Karma standing there. They seemed to be everywhere lately. Liam was in a black polo shirt with a pair of khakis on. Karma was in a white sundress with her hair curled.

"Hi, Amy," Liam smiled. He had his arm around Karma's waist and held her close to his body. "Is Devon around?"

"She's asleep," I replied. I saw Karma glaring at me and quickly realized the state I was in. There was really nothing left to the imagination on what I had recently been doing. I smirked knowing that she was probably insanely jealous. I flicked my eyes back up to Liam's and asked, "why? Is there something important going on?"

"No, nothing important. I just wanted to see if she would like to get lunch with us," he explained. He looked to Karma and smiled. "Plus, we have some news that I would like to share with her that might make her happy, but if she's asleep it can wait."

"No, no. She's been sleeping for quite a while so I should probably wake her up now anyways. I'm sure she would love to go to lunch. Why don't you come in and wait in the living room while I wake her?"

"That'd be great," he said. "Thank you."

I led them to the living room before making my way back into the bedroom. I sat down on the side of the bed next to Devon and gently shook her. Her eyes fluttered open as she stretched out across the bed.

"Hi," she mumbled sleepily, her voice a little raspier than it usually was.

"Hi, babe," I grinned. "Liam is here. He wants you to go to lunch with him. He mentioned something about some good news he wants to speak to you about."

"Mmm, food sounds great right now."

"Get up," I said and placed a kiss on her forehead. "You can go out with Liam for a few hours and then maybe we can explore LA and see what it has to offer."

I stood up from the side of the bed and pulled the robe off, letting it fall to the ground at my feet. I was about to walk to the dresser to get clothes when I felt arms wrap around my waist that pulled me onto the bed. Devon nuzzled into my neck and left a kiss on my shoulder.

"You're making it extremely hard to get out of this bed when you're strutting around naked," she purred into my ear, nipping at my earlobe. "Liam can wait until tomorrow, I wanna stay with you."

"As much as I want you all to myself, you haven't seen Liam in a while, and I know how needy he is," I chuckled. "Go spend time with your brother, I'll be here when you get back."

"Fine," she pouted. She got up from the bed and pulled some clothes out of the dresser. She threw them on and went to the mirror to put some make-up on, not that she needed any. "But may I just say, I am deeply _hurt_ that you don't want to spend the whole day having sex. I can't believe you're making me _socialize_."

"Stop whining." I got up and put on a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt. I walked up to Devon and wrapped my arms around her waist as she did her hair. I kissed her neck softly and whispered in her ear, "you look beautiful."

"Are you sure you want me to leave?" She asked, turning around in my arms and wrapping her arms around my neck before kissing my lips softly. She placed a kiss on my neck and caused my skin to form goosebumps.

"No, I'm not," I muttered, closing my eyes as I felt her teeth graze my neck. "But you should go, so get going."

"Fine," she pouted. She turned and walked out of the room and I followed. She grabbed her purse that was sitting on the end table and turned to Liam. "Ready to go?"

"Yes we are," he grinned as he stood up from the couch. "Ready, Karma?"

"I'm not too hungry, actually," she replied. "Why don't you and Devon go ahead? You guys need some time to catch up."

"Are you sure, honey?" Liam asked, looking at his wife with concern. I rolled my eyes at the pet name. "You've hardly eaten since we came to LA. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she smiled at him and I could tell it was forced. I saw her glance over at me before turning back to Liam. "I'll just read my book or something. It's fine, you guys go."

"Okay." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "We won't be gone long. Have fun, ladies."

Devon walked over to me and placed her hands on my hips before leaning in to kiss me. It was gentle and loving and much different from the ones we shared earlier. Once the kiss was broken I leaned my head against her forehead and smiled.

"I'll see you later, Dev," I whispered against her lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she grinned. She pulled away from me and left the hotel room with Liam trailing closely behind her.

I was still smiling to myself for a few moments after the siblings left when I heard someone clear their throat, and I jumped in surprise when I looked over to see Karma still in my hotel room. I almost forgot she was there.

"You two make a cute couple," she smiled, and I could see the underlying pain in her eyes, but I also knew her words were genuine. "I can tell you really love each other."

"Yeah," I said and cleared my throat. This situation was awkward, to say the least, talking to the girl I loved all throughout high school about the girl I am currently in love with. "We kinda just clicked from the second we met. She was a cocky shithead... but I liked it."

"How did you guys meet?" She asked.

"It's kind of a long story," I mumbled. "As cliche as it sounds, we literally ran into each other..."

* * *

**_Two Years Earlier_ **

_I was running late, like usual. I thought I had hit the snooze button on my alarm, but I apparently accidentally shut it off completely. A half hour later I woke, instead of the ten more minutes I had planned on sleeping, so I had to skip my morning shower. My hair was thrown up in a ponytail and I had my scrubs on to save time for when I arrived at the hospital. That way I could get right to work instead of going to the locker room to change._

_I was practically sprinting down the street to get to work. Since I don't live that far from the hospital I typically walk to work to avoid traffic. I also had to skip out on my morning Starbucks trip and would have to settle for the shitty coffee at the hospital. I had a bad feeling about my day since my morning was so awful. I was so lost in thought I didn't realize where I was walking, until I slammed right into someone._

_"Shit," I muttered as I looked up to realize I had made this woman spill her coffee all down her shirt. Then I locked eyes with the woman and I could feel all the oxygen leave my body. Those piercing green eyes locked with mine and I saw a smile form on her face. And I could feel a knot in my stomach as she smiled at me, but it was a good feeling. A feeling I thought I'd never feel again. "Fuck, I am- I am so sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."_

_"Yeah, I can see that, Blondie," she chuckled._

_"Are you- are you hurt? I totally ruined your shirt. Let me buy you a new one," I sputtered out. I searched through my bag to find my wallet. I was muttering under my breath as I searched my bag. "Jesus, you're probably hurt. Let me take you to the hospital. Where the fuck is my wallet?"_

_"Hey," she said softly, catching my attention and stopping my actions. "I appreciate the concern, Doc," she said with a grin as she eyed the scrubs I was wearing. "But I'm fine, and as far as the shirt goes, I can make a new one. It's totally fine."_

_"No, it isn't fine. You could have seriously burned- wait, you **made** that?" I asked in shock. That shirt looked like it cost more than my rent._

_"Yeah, I'm a designer. Really it's no big deal."_

_"Can I do anything though? I feel bad. Can I give you money to buy you another coffee?" I questioned._

_"There is one thing you could do," she smiled devilishly and I couldn't help but find it extremely attractive. "Let me take you out."_

_"What do you mean?" I asked, surprised that this obviously high class woman wanted to take **me** out. "Like a- like a date?"_

_"Yeah, like a date."_

_"Why me? And what makes you think I am interested in women?" I challenged with my brow raised. I was a bit hesitant on going on the date with her. I hadn't dated since my fake relationship with Karma, and that wasn't really a date. I had just had a few hook-ups here and there for the past couple years, but nothing permanent._

_"Because," she drawled. "You're the first person I've ever met that actually makes scrubs look **good**. Plus, I find you kind of adorable. And I just had a feeling you were." She winked and had a cocky smirk on her face that was incredibly sexy._

_At the mention of scrubs I remembered I was running late and my boss was going to kill me. I'm still an intern after all, and although I am the best doctor out of the rest of the interns, I still don't want to push my luck._

_"Shit! I'm going to be so late," I cursed. It couldn't hurt to go on a date with her, I thought. The worst thing that could happen is we aren't compatible with each other and we move on with our lives. "But, yes. I'll go on a date with you. Do you have a pen?"_

_"Yes, I do," she replied as she dug in her purse to retrieve one. She grabbed one and handed it to me. I grabbed her hand and scribbled my number on the inside of her hand. She looked at her hand and smiled, "Amy Raudenfeld, I like the name."_

_"What's yours?"_

_"Devon Roberts."_

_"Well, Devon," I smiled. "I really have to go to work but I hope to hear from you soon. Sorry about the coffee and the shirt."_

_"See ya, Amy."_

_And although I was ten minutes late and got a verbal beating from my boss in front of all my colleagues, I couldn't help but feel like it was totally worth it._

* * *

I smiled fondly as the memory replayed in my head. I was surprised that I had told Karma all about Devon and I, but it felt nice. She sat and listened and didn't interrupt, which was a lot different from the Karma I knew in high school. I could never get through a story without her getting distracted, but now she was sitting and listening and it was kind of weird.

"That's cute. I've only met her a handful of times but she's always been very kind. Liam loves her to death, wouldn't shut up about how excited he was to see her the whole plane ride," she smiled. Her face turned serious and she locked eyes with me. "Listen, Amy, I know I've fucked up big time. And I know I don't deserve to be forgiven, but I just- I'd like you to give me a chance. I want to be friends again, and I'm not expecting it to happen over night, but could you please just give me a chance to redeem myself for all the fucked up shit I've done to you?"

"Um, yeah, maybe," I mumbled.

Talking to Karma again was nice. She seemed much different from how she used to be, and a small part of me missed having a friend. I wasn't going to let my walls down immediately, but maybe letting Karma into my life and letting a little bit of my walls down wouldn't be such a bad idea.


	5. Chapter 5

A few hours later I heard the door to the hotel room open, indicating Devon was back from her lunch with Liam. Karma had left after we talked for about an hour. I had learned that her and Liam live in Miami and Karma owned her own music school. They were moving soon, however, she never told me where. She was also working to get discovered by a record label. I talked about how I went to Duke University after high school for pre-med, then continued on to medical school, and how I just recently became a resident at a hospital.

I looked up from where I was reading on the couch and locked eyes with her. Something was off, I could see it in the expression on her face. Her eyebrows were furrowed slightly and she was gnawing on her bottom lip. I marked the page I was on in my book and placed it on the table. I moved into a sitting position so she could sit down with me.

"What's wrong, baby?" I asked and wrapped my arm around her shoulder once she sat down next to me.

"Liam's moving," she muttered.

"Yeah, Karma mentioned that to me, but she never told me where," I replied. I was kind of confused why this was the cause of Devon being upset. "Where are they moving? And why is it making you so upset?"

"They're moving to New York City, they'll be living about five minutes away from us. They're planned to be moved into their new house in about three weeks."

Now I was even more confused. How was it a bad thing that her brother, whom she barely sees but is very close with, is moving closer to her? I thought that would be something she'd be excited about. I know regardless of how little she sees him, she loves him very much and wishes she could spend more time with him.

"Okay," I drawled, trying to make sense of it all. "And how exactly is that a bad thing?"

"Because, Amy," she snapped. I was surprised at how angry she sounded. She never used that tone of voice with me. "I don't want to live near _her_."

 _Oh_. I understood now. She didn't want to be close to Karma, and I couldn't really blame her. I'd probably be feeling the same way if I was in her position. Honestly, I didn't even know if I wanted Karma to live so close to us. Yeah, we talked and she apologized and wants to try to fix our friendship, but that doesn't mean I trusted her in any way. She has broken my heart too many times for me to just give her the power to hurt me again. I could be civil though.

"Are you... jealous?" I asked timidly.

"No," she spit out bitterly, and I immediately regretted asking the question. "I'm not jealous in any way because I trust you, but that doesn't mean I like her. She hasn't just hurt you, she's hurting my baby brother also. She's basically just with him out of obligation now since she knows she fucked up with you. He's all she's got because he's safe. She's not in love with him, and Liam is so in love with her and he doesn't deserve to be in a relationship that isn't real."

I knew that Devon was in a tough position as it was with Karma, since she did basically confess that she loved me and wished she chose differently all those years ago. So she's protective of me, but I never realized that she also had to be protective of Liam as well because he was bound to get his heart broken by Karma eventually. This was all so fucked.

"Babe, Liam's a big boy," I said. I pulled her into me so she was sitting between my legs and her back was resting against my torso. I pushed some of her hair out of the way and kissed her neck softly. "You don't have to protect him. He'll figure it out on his own. Just... let them settle their own shit out and don't stress about it. I hate seeing you stressed."

"I guess you're right," she sighed. "I just don't want him to get hurt."

"I know you don't," I replied as I kissed her cheek. "But enough about them, what do you wanna do for the rest of the day?"

"I don't care what we do," she sighed as she cuddled into me more. "I don't care what we do as long as I'm with you."

* * *

It was day four of our little vacation and Los Angeles was pretty amazing. It was different from New York City. The weather was much warmer, and the people were much friendlier. Last night Devon and I went out to a nice restaurant and then wandered the city for a while. It was busy, but not nearly as busy as The City That Never Sleeps. I was having fun, but I missed New York.

It was about 10am when I finally decided to get out of bed. Devon had woken up at around 9:00 because she got a call from her parents, so she had to go talk to them. I can only imagine what they have to talk to her about. I didn't want to worry about it, not when I was just waking up at least. I needed coffee before I could start worrying.

I grabbed my wallet off the counter in the kitchen and made my way toward the door. As I opened it I came face to face with Karma, who had a fist raised like she was just about to knock on the door.

"Oh!" She gasped in surprise. "Hi, I was just about to knock."

"Yeah, I can see that. Will you put the fist down? It's starting to look like you're gonna punch me in the face," I giggled.

"Sorry," she muttered and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I was just going to get some coffee and came to see if you wanted to join me."

"You read my mind. I was just about to go get some coffee too."

"Great!" She replied. "Want to get Starbucks?"

"Obviously. There's no other place to get coffee."

"Obviously," she teased and rolled her eyes. We walked to her rental car and I got into the passenger seat. We started driving towards the nearest Starbucks in a slightly awkward silence, nothing but the radio playing softly in the background to fill the silence.

"So," I spoke up. I looked out the window and watched all the cars passing by. I focused my attention back on the her. "Devon tells me you and Liam are moving to New York."

"Yeah," she smiled and I could tell it was forced.

"What's going to happen with your music school?"

"I'll have to run it from New York. I won't be able to teach the kids anymore, which really sucks because that's what I love to do. I'll just be in charge of paperwork and stuff," she explained.

We pulled into the Starbucks parking lot and walked inside. We each ordered our drinks before sitting down at a table.

"What's the reasoning behind the move?" I asked.

"Liam's opening a new art museum."

"How come you have to drop your career just so he can continue to succeed in his? That doesn't seem very fair."

"It's just how things are," she sighed. Her shoulders slumped and she looked down at her hands. She was pouting, just like she always used to when she was upset. "His career has always been more important. But I can either open a new music school or I can focus more on getting discovered."

She was fiddling with the ring on her finger again and I noticed this was a nervous habit of hers. She used to play with the best friends necklace on her neck whenever she got nervous. It hit me then just how much I still knew about her.

"Why are you so nervous right now?" I asked.

"I don't know," she sighed. She glanced up at me and then back down at her hands. "I just feel like I shouldn't be talking about my marriage with you. It makes me feel... wrong."

"It's fine, Karma," I said and placed a hand over hers to get her to stop playing with her hands. A small gasp escaped her lips and she quickly pulled her hands away from mine. "I don't mind talking with you about Liam. I'll be seeing a lot of him now, so I'll have to get used to it him."

"Enough about Liam and the move, tell me about your job and your life. I knew you were smart, Amy, but I never knew you wanted to be a doctor."

"Well, during high school I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I was so confused with who I was and could barely focus on anything besides surviving high school, you know? All I knew was that I wanted to help people, and that's how I decided what to do. And although it was the hardest thing I've ever done, getting through medical school and my internship, it was the best decision I've ever made. I love what I do."

"I'm proud of you, Amy," Karma smiled. "Are you happy?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Yeah, I really am."

* * *

An hour later I walked into the hotel room to see Devon pacing around. She looked stressed and worried and I knew it was whatever happened with her parents. When she heard the door close, she looked up from her pacing and looked at me.

"Where have you been? I've been trying to call you," she cried out.

"I was getting a coffee with Karma," I explained. I knew she didn't like Karma but I didn't want to lie to her and say I went out by myself. She trusted me, and if I lied to spare her feelings and she found out later that I lied, she'd stop trusting me. So I wanted to be upfront with her regardless of if she would get mad for me hanging out with Karma. "What's wrong, Dev?"

"I-I think you should sit down for this," she sighed. She sat down on the couch and motioned for me to sit next to her, so I did.

"You're freaking me out," I said. "What is it?"

"My parents... they want to press charges against you for assaulting fucking Matthew."

It took me a moment to process what she said. Then I realized how fucked this was. Not only was this going to be a pain in the ass to deal with regarding hiring a lawyer, but I could lose my job.

"WHAT?" I shouted and got up from the couch. Now I was the one pacing. "Devon, do you know how completely _fucked_ I will be if the press charges? I get background checked annually. I could lose my job if they see that I have fucking assault on my record."

She got up from the couch and stopped me from pacing by placing her hands on my shoulders. I felt her thumb brush against my cheek and I noticed then that I had started to cry.

"I'll figure something out, babe," she said and kissed my cheek. "Please, just don't cry. I hate when you cry."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet," she muttered. "But I'll figure it out..."


	6. Chapter 6

After Devon dropped the bomb of her parents wanting to press charges, I left the hotel and took the car to the beach to clear my head. I wasn't mad at her, it wasn't her fault after all. It was my fault that I threw that punch, and I should have known it would come back to bite me in the ass, but I'd do it all over again if it meant protecting Devon.

I was standing in the water, which was up to my hips, letting the waves wash over me. Any other time this would have calmed me down, but everything just felt like it was too much. The sun was too hot and would probably give me a sunburn. The wind was too strong and completely fucking up my hair. There were too many people, too many birds, too much bullshit.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I quickly spun around to face the person. I was gasping for breath and I realized that I have been hyperventilating. I look into Karma's hazel eyes and can see the concern. She pulls me into her arms and I'm clutching onto her as I try to breathe and I can feel tears streaming down my face. I feel like I'm going to pass out, this is all too much to handle.

Karma would always know what to do whenever I had panic attacks after my dad's death, or when I was just upset about anything really, and things haven't changed. She protectively holds me against her chest, like she wouldn't let anything hurt me ever again, and she gently runs her fingers through my hair. It's scary how little things have changed, yet at the same time things are completely different.

"Are you okay now?" She whispers quietly in my ear once my sobs finally subside and my breathing goes back to normal. She's still holding me close to her, like she's afraid that if she lets me go I'll freak out again.

"Yeah, I'm fi-"

My words are cut off as an exceptionally large wave crashes into us, completely catching us off guard. The wave drags us under water from the force. When I resurface, I'm laying on my back in the sand, coughing up the water that got into my lungs. I look over and see Karma laying in a similar position. "Well," I mutter under my breath once I can actually breathe, "that was a kick."

She looks at me and bursts into a fit of giggles and I can't help but chuckle as well because in that moment I could see the Karma that I used to know. In that moment I could see my best friend again. I was hit with a wave of nostalgia, thinking about all the good times we had. I also felt slightly bitter over all the good times that we _could_ have had together, but were wasted when she chose Liam. I was over it, though. It didn't bother me anymore.

"Come on," Karma said as she stood up. She extended her hand and pulled me to my feet as well. "Let's head back."

After gathering my things, we headed back to my car. I was confused how she knew where I was, and I wondered if she was aware of what was going on with Liam's and Devon's parents.

"How'd you know where I was?" I asked.

"Devon showed up at our hotel room a little while ago and explained what happened. She was worried about you, but thought that you were angry with her, so she asked if I could go look for you," she explained. "I knew you were always a sucker for water, so I assumed you came here. I had Liam drop me off."

"What would you have done if I wasn't here?"

"I would have either walked or gotten a taxi to continue looking for you," she replied. She put all my things in the car as I slipped on a t-shirt and shorts over my bikini. We got into the car, and once we were buckled she looked over at me and asked, "do you want to talk about it?"

I exhaled a deep breath and tightly gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles began to turn white. I glanced at her and mumbled, "can we just drive for a little while? I'm not ready to talk about it yet."

When she nodded I started the car and began to drive aimlessly. The only sound was the radio playing softly in the background. It was nice. She didn't push me to talk about my feelings and what happened, she just let me drive and clear my head.

I stopped the car about a half hour later at a secluded park. We got out and began to walk around. The landscape was beautiful and it was incredibly quiet unlike being in the middle of the city. It felt like being back home in Texas.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," I finally spoke up once we walked in silence for a few minutes. "If they do press charges and I lose my job, what am I supposed to do? Nobody will hire me, and I'd have to go back to school and study something else. I can't do that. I can't throw away everything I worked for."

"Amy, everything is going to be okay. Devon will figure something out, and if she can't figure something out Liam and I will help. You shouldn't have to suffer over this, you were just doing what you thought was right. If I were in your shoes I probably would have done the same thing you did," she reassured me. "I think you just need to take a deep breath and calm down. Everything will be okay. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"This has been a vacation from Hell," I muttered.

"At least we're back in each other's lives, right?"

I looked at her and nodded, although I wasn't sure if I was telling the truth. I had yet to figure out if Karma being back in my life was a curse or a blessing. I thought I was able to forget about her, but I think it just got easier to not think about her as time went on. Now that she was thrown back into my life, it brought back many good and bad memories. I like to think that Karma and I can go back to being friends, but things with Karma had always been quite unpredictable.

* * *

I no longer wanted to be in Los Angeles. I wanted to be home and I wanted to be curled up in my bed, _our_ bed, where no bad things could happen. I wished we never came on this stupid trip, and I wished I never met Devon's parents, and I wished I never punched stupid Matthew in the face. I wished and I wished and I wished, but I couldn't turn back the clock. I couldn't go back to when Devon asked me if I'd go to LA with her and tell her no. I was stuck here.

I needed my life back. This vacation had turned into a nightmare. I wanted to be back in New York with my friends, with Shane and Lauren, with Devon. I wanted to go back to where I felt like I belonged. I was drowning here on the West Coast. And although Karma had managed to calm me down yesterday when shit hit the fan, I woke up this morning and felt like a weight was crushing me as I remembered the events of yesterday.

So to get me to feel better, I FaceTimed Lauren and Shane. I was sitting on the bed with my Mac in my lap, waiting for them to answer, which didn't take long. Devon had muttered something about going out to talk to her parents about an hour ago, and I hadn't heard from her since. I could tell that she was feeling guilty for everything that was happening, which made me feel terrible because she didn't deserve to go through this either.

"Hey, lesbo!" Shane's voice broke through the speaker.

"Hey, bitch," Lauren grinned.

"Hi," I smiled at my best friend and step sister.

"How's LA treating you? You look tan!" Shane asked.

"It sucks," I said honestly. "Shit has really hit the fan and I just want to come home."

"What happened? It can't be that bad," Lauren questioned. She looked concerned and I could see her protectiveness coming out. She was always willing to bash some heads if someone hurt me. "Did Devon do something? I hope not, I really like her and I wouldn't want to kick her ass, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't. If she hurt you, I'll kill her."

"No, Lauren, it isn't Devon. Well, it involves Devon but it's not her fault. It's a really long story," I rambled.

"Well, spill it, bitch! I need to hear this gossip," Shane said.

"Liam Booker is Devon's brother. Liam fucking Booker."

"WHAT?!" They shouted at the same time.

"Him and Karma are married," I continued. Their jaws dropped almost comically, if it was any other time I would have probably laughed. "Karma told me she has regretted her decision of choosing Liam over me since the day of graduation. She apologized for everything she put me through, so we are on relatively good terms, but I don't think I trust her. Her and Liam are moving five minutes away from Devon and I."

"Wow," Shane said. "You're really mature, Amy. If I were you I probably would have ripped that bitches hair out of her head if I saw her again."

"That's not even the worst of it all," I muttered and looked down at my hands.

"How is that not the worst part?" Lauren asked. "The bitch who broke your heart is back in your life and there's more bad news?!"

"At the party that Devon's parents threw, Devon's step dad was a real big asshole. They got into a fight and he grabbed her wrists and she was struggling and I just... snapped. I was scared he was going to hurt her, so I punched him in the face and knocked him out."

"I've taught you so much," Lauren smiled proudly.

"But now her parents want to press charges against me for assault. I could lose my job. Everything I've worked so fucking hard for could be ripped away from me in an instant. It's such a fucking mess and I just want to come home and forget about it all," I sighed sadly. I hated this so much.

"Okay, well, maybe I was wrong when I said it couldn't be that bad, because it's pretty bad," Lauren mumbled.

"Wow, that's really making me feel better," I growled at the blonde.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Amy," Shane said reassuringly. "Devon will figure something out with her parents and you won't lose your job. And I still think Karma is a bitch and I hate her, but at least she apologized and she's trying to make up for what she did to you. Everything will work out, it always does."

"Thanks, Shane," I smiled. "Anyways, enough about me. How are things going with you two?"

"SHANE GAVE ME ECSTASY AGAIN!" Lauren shouted, catching me totally off guard.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU KEEP THINKING IT'S FUCKING IBUPROFEN!"

I watch as the two bicker with one another, and it makes me miss home even more. I felt lost without my two best friends. All I wanted was to go out with Devon and the two of them and just forget about everything that happened in LA.

"I really miss you guys," I said, causing them to stop arguing with each other.

"We miss you, too, bitch," Lauren smiled. "We'll see you in a few days, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," I mumbled. I heard the door to the hotel room open, which meant Devon was home. "I gotta go guys. Devon's back and we should probably talk about everything."

We say our goodbyes and I place my Mac next to me on the bed before walking out of the bedroom. Devon was looking through the kitchen for something, and she looked even more stressed than she did before she left.

"What are you looking for?"

"Alcohol," she said bluntly. She pulls out a bottle of vodka from the refrigerator looking triumphant. "Perfect."

She turned to me and I could see that her makeup was smeared from crying, and I was immediately worried. Devon _never_ cried. Never. Whatever happened with her parents obviously wasn't good. I was going to scold her for it being too early to start drinking, but I had a feeling that whatever she was about to tell me was going to be bad.

"What happened?" I asked, swallowing the lump that formed in my throat.

"I don't know what you're talking about, nothing happened," she lied terribly. She also never lied, so she was obviously trying to protect me from something. As each second passed I became more and more anxious.

"Dev, please just tell me what happened. I can tell something is up. I need to know," I begged.

After a moment of silence, she muttered, "my parents gave me an ultimatum."

"Okay," I uttered. I could barely breathe as I waited for what she had to say. I was overcome with dread as I waited for her to say the words that would completely change both of our lives.

"They want me to break up with you and take over the family business. If I do that, they won't press charges," she sighed and I could see more tears forming in her eyes.

My breath hitched in my throat and I had to hold onto the counter from losing my balance. I felt like my entire world was being pulled right out from under me. All the sorrow I felt yesterday was nothing compared to what I was feeling now. I couldn't even stop the tears from streaming down my face if I tried. This was it, wasn't it? It was all over. They won.

"What?" I said, my voice cracking over the one syllable. I knew what she said but I didn't feel real.

"Amy," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "The only way to stop this, is if you're out of my life."


	7. Chapter 7

I stood there frozen in place. I was pretty sure I hadn’t taken a breath since those words were spoken. My brain was buzzing, and all I could hear were Devon’s words reverberating in my mind.

_The only way to stop this, is if you’re out of my life._

“No,” I said. I didn’t know what else to say. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t do anything. “No, that’s not happening.”

“There’s nothing else we can do.”

“Devon, this is bullshit!” I shouted. I was sick of crying, so instead I was angry. Angry at her parents, angry at her, angry at myself. “You can’t just let them control you! I’m not letting you do this.”

“Don’t you see I have no other fucking choice?” She screamed, slamming her fist against the counter. “Do you think I actually _want_ to do this?”

In the two years I’ve known Devon, I have never seen her fall apart like this. We never really fought, and if we did it was small arguments that didn’t last long. It was never like this. We work so well together. But now she looked so utterly broken, and I didn’t know how to fix it.

“You don’t have to,” I whispered. I closed the gap between us and held her face in my hands. Her emerald green eyes locked with mine, and I could see so much pain reflecting in them. “If you love me, then you don’t have to do this. Please, Dev, I can’t lose you.”

“I do love you, Amy. So much. But that’s why I have to do this,” she sighed. She was holding onto my wrists tightly as if that was keeping her grounded. “I won’t be able to live with myself knowing that I ruined your life. I can’t watch your career get ruined, the career that you love more than anything, because of me. I have a chance to prevent that from happening. Even if I’ll never get to hold you in my arms again, I’ll live with that pain for the rest of my life if it means that you get to continue to chase your dreams.”

A sob escaped my lips. I didn't understand how everything between us had gone from perfect to completely broken in a matter of five days. Coming here ruined us, and I wish I could turn back the clock. I couldn't do this without her. Before her I was numb and just going through the motions, but she brought me back to life.

“I can't be the one to ruin your life either. You despise your family's company and everything they stand for. You love your job, just like I love mine. So I can't ask you to throw that away because of something I did. I got myself in this mess, and I refuse to lose you over it.”

She pulled away from my touch and shook her head. I could see it in her eyes that nothing I said was persuading her to change her mind, and I felt like my heart stopped beating. I was tired of losing people. First I lost my dad, then Karma, and now I was losing Devon.

“I love you. I’ll never love anyone like I love you, but I have to do this.”

I angrily wiped my tears away and sucked in a deep breath. Continuing to argue with her wasn’t going to do any good. Devon was stubborn, and once she made up her mind on something she refused to change it.

“If you just want to give up and let your parents control you, fine! I’m getting a ticket to the first flight back to New York. I’ll pack my things and move out and you’ll never have to see me again.”

I walked away from my now ex girlfriend and went into the bedroom, slamming the door behind me. It felt so wrong to call Devon my ex. I thought she was the one, and to watch her just give up hurt even more than I had expected. I felt the same way when I lost Karma.

Two hours later I had all my things packed in my suitcase and I was about to leave for the airport. I managed to get the last ticket on a flight to New York that leaves at six o’clock, so I’d probably be flying all night. I had called Lauren and she was going to pick me up from the airport and take me home once my flight landed. I didn’t go into much detail about what happened, I couldn’t talk about it yet because none of it felt real. All she knew was that I was having problems with Devon, and I promised to explain later.

I dragged my suitcase out of the bedroom, and saw Devon sitting on the couch with her head in her hands. She looked up when she heard the door to the bedroom open, and I could see she was still crying. She stood up from her seat and for a moment just stared at me as if she was trying to memorize everything about me, including my donut shirt.

“So, you got a flight?” She asked, her voice was slightly hoarse.

“Yeah, I need to leave now,” I replied quietly, looking down at the ground. I couldn’t stand this. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

“I’ll drive you.”

“No,” I said forcefully. “I’ll take a taxi.”

“Amy, please, we can still be-”

“Don’t you dare say that we can be friends,” I snapped. My voice cracked as I tried to hold back my tears. “You made your choice, Devon, and I just can’t be near you right now. I can’t look at you and pretend that everything is going to be fine and that we’ll move on and be friends. I can’t do that because I don’t think I could ever just be _friends_ with you.”

I walked up to her, dragging my suitcase along with me. I wiped away a stray tear from her face with the pad of my thumb before leaning in and pressing my lips softly against her cheek.

“If you change your mind, you know my number,” I whispered into her ear. “Goodbye, Devon.”

With that, I walked out of our hotel room. I finally let the tears that I had tried so hard to keep at bay fall. The thought that this may be the last time I ever see her made my breath catch in my lungs. I would never hold her in my arms, never hear that voice, never look into her eyes again.

I took a moment to compose myself. I couldn’t let myself fall apart. I leaned up against the wall in the hallway outside my hotel room, and I took a few deep breaths. I wiped the tears from my eyes, hoping I didn’t look as awful as I felt. There was a time and a place to let go, but right now I needed to keep my emotions in check and just focus on getting home.

I made my way over to the elevator and pressed the down arrow. As soon as the elevator doors open, I am met by Liam’s and Karma’s smiling faces. I watch Karma’s smile fall when she notices the suitcase and my tear stained cheeks.

“Amy, what’s going on?” She asks. She has a frown on her face and her eyes are full of worry. I almost want to break down and cry again, but I can’t. I need to be strong right now.

I look to Liam. I never thought I’d admit, but I need him now more than ever. His eyes are also full of worry, and it hit me then just how much he cares about his sister. I never liked Liam, but I needed him to look out for her.

“Your parents want me out of the picture,” I said, never breaking eye contact with him. “They’re forcing Devon to leave me and take over the business if she wants them to drop the charges against me. I told her it wasn’t worth it, and I begged her not to do it, but she’s so fucking stubborn.”

“Amy,” he sighed, and I could hear the anger in his voice, but I know it was directed at his parents and not me. “I’m so sorry this is happening. My parents are… ruthless. They don’t care who they have to hurt as long as they benefit in some way, but I never thought they would go this far.”

“Are you going home?” Karma piped up.

“Yeah, I just can’t be here anymore,” I sighed. “I need you guys to look after Devon for me. I know she’s not handling things well, and I just need you to help her through this.”

“Amy, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me, okay?”

“Thanks, Karm,” I whispered. I checked the time and realized that I really needed to get going. “I need to get to the airport.”

I entered the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor. Liam stuck his arm out to prevent the elevator doors from closing. He looked at me, and I could see determination in his eyes.

“Devon loves you. She’d do anything for you, and that’s why she’s doing this,” he said. “But just give it time, Amy. Everything will work out, I promise.”

I didn’t know what it was, but something made me believe Liam. As the elevator doors closed, I held onto my faith. That was the only thing that was keeping me from falling apart. All I could do was hope that Liam was right.


	8. Chapter 8

Two months went by. Two months without a call or text or  _anything_  from Devon. I moved back into the apartment I had shared with Lauren before Devon and I moved in together. I'm thankful for Lauren being here for me, and it isn't all bad living with her again, but it isn't the same. Lauren's my sister and I love her dearly, but this tiny apartment isn't my home. I thought I had a home with Devon, but now I'm not so sure I belong anywhere anymore.

Two months ago Lauren picked me up from the airport, and she took one look at me and knew that there was no way I was going to recover from this. She had taken one look at me and wrapped me in a tight hug, not bothering to tell me it would be okay because she knew it wouldn't be. She had witnessed how I was after Karma, and knew that this was so much worse. After Karma, I had been hurt and I was in pain, but now I didn't feel much of anything at all.

Ten years ago, after graduating high school I was damaged. My heart was battered from the emotional wreckage that Karma had put me through, but I still held on and kept fighting. Devon came along and she patched up the wounds and she gave me hope I thought I had lost. Ten years ago I was damaged, but now I think I am broken beyond repair.

Karma and Liam moved to New York shortly after the break up, and Karma has spent a lot of time with me, trying to cheer me up. She is trying to bring out the old Amy, and she has so much hope and determination that I can't find it in my heart to tell her that the old Amy is gone. I have been seeing her a lot since she moved here, and it is almost like old times, but things are different now… I am different.

I am trying to get over it, but I can't. I am trying so hard to be myself again, but it just isn't fucking fair. I lost Karma once, who I had been in love with, and I was barely able to get past that. But I did manage to get over it and I moved on and I was happy. Devon was the one who made me happy, but now I lost her as well and there isn't a way of getting her back, and all the hope I once had is now gone.

So, to say that I am having a "hard time" would be putting it lightly. Going to work doesn't even make me feel better, and I love my job. Working had been what got me through losing Karma, but it just isn't the same distraction this time around. Because every time I go to work in my scrubs I think of the first time I met Devon and she told me I make scrubs look good. And when I go to the cafeteria in the hospital I think of when Devon would surprise me with lunch so I wouldn't be stuck with the hospital's food and we'd have a quick lunch date while I was on break. I think of when she asked me to move in with her.

* * *

_It had been an incredibly busy day, and I hadn't had enough time to take a sip of water, let alone pee or eat. There was a huge car accident on the highway, which left the emergency room completely full, and there were people going in and out of the operating room all day._

_I was stressed to the max, and I had to stay three extra hours because they needed more helping hands, so I didn't get out until 2am. I was planning on going home to the shared apartment I had with Lauren and falling asleep in my empty bed because I didn't want to wake Devon up since she had work early in the morning. I was exhausted, but I saved a lot of people that night so it was worth it. Even though now it was pouring outside and I didn't have an umbrella and my car was parked extremely far from the main door of the hospital, it was all still worth it._

_I prepared myself to sprint to my car, taking a deep breath before running out the building. I didn't make it far because Devon was standing outside of the hospital with an umbrella waiting for me. I ducked under her umbrella and protected myself from the rain._

_"Devon, babe, what are you doing here?" I asked, a frown adorning my face. I became worried because I didn't know why she would be at the hospital at this time when she should be sleeping. "Is everything okay?"_

_"Everything's fine," she smiled softly. "I just- I couldn't sleep."_

_"So instead of reading a book in bed or something, you decide to wait outside a hospital in the pouring rain?" I teased._

_"I realized something tonight," she whispered, and I could barely hear her over how loud the rain was. She locked eyes with me and spoke louder. "I realized that the reason why I couldn't sleep was because you weren't by my side. I couldn't sleep because that bed is far too big for only one person. I couldn't sleep because I didn't want to wake up in the morning and not see your face first thing."_

_I was so enraptured by her words that I didn't even realize that she had dropped the umbrella and we were currently getting soaked. Her hands were on my hips, and I could see so much love in her eyes that it left me completely breathless._

_"What are you saying, Dev?" I asked quietly._

_"What I'm saying is, I want to be with you every day. You're the first thing I want to see when I wake up, and you're the one I want to fall asleep next to every night. I want to wake up in the middle of the night and reach out and feel your body besides mine. I don't want you to sleep at your apartment when you have a particularly late shift like tonight, I want you to come home to me. Will you move in with me, Amy?"_

_I didn't even answer, I just tugged at her shirt and crashed our lips together. Words couldn't describe how happy I was in that moment. Even after a long fifteen hour shift, and not eating or drinking anything all day, I couldn't complain about anything. I was perfectly content._

_"Let's go home," I said once we parted for air._

_"I like the sound of that."_

* * *

"Amy?"

I glanced up to see Karma looking at me from across the table. We are currently sitting in a small diner getting breakfast to "take my mind off of things", as Karma had put it when she texted me earlier in the morning. That seemed to be the reason we went out a lot, but I never actually stopped thinking about all the shit that's happened. And I feel bad because Karma is trying  _so hard_  just to get me to smile and have a good time, and I can't even pay attention to her.

"You haven't been listening, have you?"

"No," I sighed, looking down at my hands. "I'm sorry I'm so distracted."

"Is it Devon?" She asked, and I noticed the anger in her voice when mentioning Devon, even though she tried to hide it. I knew Karma believed Devon made the wrong decision, and held a grudge against her for it.

I nodded my head and groaned. I'm angry at myself for being sad all the time. I should have known nothing good ever lasts in my life. This shouldn't have come as such a fucking surprise to me. I can't help but think I did something terrible in a past life to deserve this torture.

"You need a night out," Karma exclaimed with a bright smile on her face. I tried to smile back, but I'm sure it looked more like a grimace. "A night out on the town with your friends. Maybe you'll meet someone there that'll make you forget all about  _her._ "

"Don't you get it, Karma?" I snapped, getting more and more frustrated with this conversation. "I don't  _want_  to meet anybody else. There's no point. I lose everybody I care about. My dad, Devon,  _you_."

I saw her smile crumble into a frown, and I hated myself for losing my temper on her when all she has been trying to do is help me. It isn't fair of me to throw our past in her face after everything she has done to make up for it.

"Amy… I know what I did wasn't right, but can't you see that I'm  _trying_?"

"Yeah, you're trying now. But that doesn't change the fact that you left me," I said quietly. "Just like everybody leaves me."

"Okay, that's it. I've had enough," Karma muttered, but I saw a look of determination in her eyes. She got up from her seat and glared at me. "This isn't you, Amy. You don't sit around and feel sorry for yourself, and I'm not going to let you keep doing it. So, we're going out tomorrow night. Shane and Lauren, even though I know they still hate me, can come along as well. You are going to get out of this pit of depression you're in. I'm not taking no for an answer."

"But-"

"No," she cut me off. She pulled her wallet out and placed some money on the table, enough for both of our meals. "You're coming, and that's final. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that said, she walked out of the diner and left me to my own thoughts. I knew I couldn't get out of this. I had to go to get Karma off my back, and I guess it really couldn't do that much harm.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song used: Scream by Usher

I looked at my reflection in the mirror and sighed. It was Friday night, and it was the night Karma was forcing me to go out with her. She said that she'd meet Lauren, Shane, and I at some club. It was one of the nicer clubs in New York, and I guess Liam knows the owner and was able to get us in.

I wasn't wearing anything fancy. I had on a black button up shirt, a pair of light wash skinny jeans on, and combat boots. My hair was straightened and I didn't have much make up on, but I looked more put together than I have in the last few months. I really wanted to back out and stay home, but I knew I couldn't.

I had to do this, not just for Karma, but for Lauren as well. She's the one who lives with me. She's the one who has to see me like this every single day, and I knew it is hurting her because there is nothing she can do to fix this, so I owe her this one good night out. Lauren is basically dealing with all my shit on her own because she promised me she wouldn't tell my mom until I was ready to talk to her about the breakup. She had Shane to help, too, but he often got too wrapped up in his own drama to deal with mine.

"You ready?" Lauren asked from the door frame. She was looking much better than I was. She was wearing a tight, strapless turquoise dress that ended mid thigh. Her makeup looked impeccable and her hair was done in loose curls. "Jeez, the least you could do is try to look nice."

"Are you saying I look ugly?" I pouted playfully. "Because if you are that's just rude."

"Of course you don't look ugly, Amy. You don't look ugly even when you've worked a double shift and haven't showered and are wearing your freakin' donut shirt. But we're going to one of the nicest clubs in the city, you could have dressed up a little."

"This shirt probably costed more than your monthly student loan payment."

"Where'd you get it?" She asked.

"Devon gave it to me," I frowned. I didn't want to think about her tonight, not when this night was supposed to be about getting over her. How was I supposed to get over her if she was still clinging onto every part of my life just like this shirt was clinging onto my body? "She designed it."

"Take it off," Lauren ordered. "You're going out tonight to get over her, Amy. That means no reminders of her, and that shirt is a reminder. So, I'm gonna choose your outfit and fix your makeup and make you look hot."

"I thought you said I wasn't ugly," I frowned.

"You're not," she huffed. She walked over to my closet and began digging through my clothes. "You look pretty, but I'm going to make you look sexy so nobody can take their eyes off you."

She chose a one-shouldered, tight black dress that was  _very_ short and red heels to go with it. She did my makeup over again so I had a smoldering smoky eye that made my green eyes stand out, as well as some red lipstick to top it off. She also curled my hair instead of keeping it straight. I couldn't deny that I looked amazing, better than I had in a long time. It even boosted my mood a bit, and I actually wasn't dreading the night any longer. I actually felt excited about the night ahead of us.

We were running late now though, and Shane was probably going to kill us for leaving him alone with Karma. Shane was never really a fan of her. In fact, nobody was ever really a fan of Karma except for me. Lauren was trying to be civil with her for my sake, because she knows how much Karma has tried to help me get through the break up.

We took a cab to the club and when we arrived we were immediately let in by the bouncer, which royally pissed off the people who were waiting in line. The club was packed, and the moment we walked in someone bumped into us, almost spilling their drinks on us but we were able to jump out of the way. Luckily Lauren wasn't afraid to push people out of our way, so thanks to her aggression we were able to make it easily to the table where Shane said him and Karma were.

"Holy shit, Amy! You look sexy," Shane whistled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder when we arrived. "Somebody is looking to get laid tonight!"

"Shane!" I scolded, feeling my cheeks turning red at his comment. "I am not. Lauren made me dress up, which is why we were so late."

"Whatever, lesbo," he chuckled. "You're totally going to get some tonight."

I shrugged his arm off my shoulder and looked over at Karma. Her hair was up in a neat bun and she wore a tight white dress with a plunging neckline. I noticed that her pupils were slightly larger than usual and her cheeks were red, and she wasn't making eye contact with me.

"You okay, Karm?" I asked.

Her eyes snapped up to gaze at mine and her cheeks turned a darker shade of red. She nodded frantically and said, "yeah, I-I'm fine. I think I just need another drink. Want one?"

"Yeah, I'll go with you," I smiled. I grabbed her hand and we slowly made our way to the bar. Her hand was sweaty and I frowned. "You sure you're okay? You feel very warm."

"Y-yeah," she stuttered. "It's just a bit hot in here with all the people."

When we got to the bar I asked the bartender for two shots, one for each of us. I knew Shane and Lauren weren't going to let me stay sober tonight, so to avoid hearing them nagging me to drink more, I quickly took my shot and asked for another two.

After four shots I had a nice buzz going. The club didn't feel as claustrophobic now, and the music that had hurt my ears when I first walked in wasn't so bothersome anymore.

"Do you want to dance?" I asked Karma, slinging my arm around her neck and pulling her close to me. The scent of the Moroccan oil in her hair and her perfume hit me, and I didn't know if it was the alcohol I just drank or her that was so intoxicating. I had to hold back my urge to bury my face in her hair.

"What about Lauren and Shane? Shouldn't we go find them?"

"They'll be fine. Lauren is probably making Shane be her wing man for the night," I explained. "Let's go."

I took one last shot and dragged Karma to a clear spot in the dance floor where luckily we weren't stuck between a bunch of sweaty bodies. Karma and I have always been good dance partners. Somehow we just knew exactly what the other was thinking and was always able to work with it, and ten years didn't change the fact that we looked great together on the dance floor.

Unlike the rest of the people on the dance floor who were practically fucking with clothes on, when we first got onto the dance floor we kept our dancing innocent. However, the gap that had been originally between us grew smaller and smaller as the songs changed. The pins that had been holding Karma's hair in a neat bun fell out and her hair was now down in waves. We were both sweaty and breathing heavily, but somewhere in our drunken haze we found ourselves pressed together.

Her arms were wrapped around my neck, and my hands were placed on her hips, pulling her closer. The DJ changed the song to  _Scream_  by Usher, and I watched as Karma's pupils dilated when the beginning beats began to play throughout the club. She turned in my arms so her back was pressed against me.

_I see you over there, so hypnotic  
Thinking 'bout what I'd do to that body  
I'd get you like  
Ooh baby baby, ooh baby baby  
_ _Ah-ooh baby baby, ooh baby baby_

I bit my lip as Karma began to grind her ass into me. My hands were still clutching her hips, but at first I just stood there, not knowing what to do. I knew this was dangerous territory, very fucking dangerous territory, but in that moment I didn't care. Karma wanted me to go out tonight to forget about everything, and this seemed like a very good distraction to me. In the morning we could blame it on the alcohol.

I pulled her in closer to me and began grinding with her to the beat of the music. She reached up with one of her hands and tangled her fingers in my hair, trying to pull me closer to her. I buried my face in her hair, and although now the smell of sweat was mixed in with her shampoo, it was somehow better. I heard her gasp when I began to whisper the words to the song in her ear.

 _If you wanna scream, yeah_  
Let me know and I'll take you there  
Get you going like  
Ah-ooh baby baby, ooh baby baby  
Ah-ooh baby baby, ooh baby baby  
If you want it done right  
Hope you're ready to go all night  
Get you going like  
Ah-ooh baby baby, ooh baby baby  
Ah-ooh baby baby, ooh baby baby  
If you wanna scream…

My hand was travelling up her inner thigh, pushing her dress up as it went. The hand of her's that was in my hair tightened its grip to the point of it almost being painful, but I didn't care. I was way past the point of caring.

She spun back around to face me. I thought her pupils were large before, but now her eyes were practically black from arousal, and I'm sure mine looked similar. Our foreheads were pressed together and I wanted nothing more than to close the gap between our lips and kiss her.

I was about to do just that when some idiot decided to bump into us, completely ruining the moment. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the fog in my mind and focus on my surroundings. I pulled away from Karma slightly and cleared my throat.

"I'm going to get us another drink," I said, practically shouting so she could hear me over the music

When she nodded in understanding, I turned and fought my way through the crowd to get to the bar. I asked the bartender for two shots of tequila. I waited patiently for our drinks, but someone's laughter caught my attention. Someone's very familiar laughter.

I turned to my right and saw Devon a few seats down with a beautiful girl who I believed was one of her assistants. One of her assistants who thought it was okay to be batting her eyelashes flirtatiously at Devon and to be sitting extremely close to her with her hand on Devon's thigh. I was boiling with rage and I couldn't take my eyes off of them.

"Miss, are you okay?" The bartender asked with a worried look on her face.

"I'm fine," I said, finally looking away from the two. I said it much louder and harsher than I intended to, which drew the attention of some people nearby.

I glanced back over at where Devon was sitting, but she was no longer laughing. She was looking right at me, completely ignoring her assistant who was looking at her worriedly. She got up from her seat, and when she started coming toward me I shot her a glare, turning on my heels to go back and find Karma.

I heard her shouting my name, but I was too angry. I needed to get out of here and I needed to get out now. I angrily shoved people out of the way, which made some people really pissed off, but I ignored their cries of protest. It didn't take me long to find Karma.

"Amy, where are our drinks? Are you okay?" She asked once she spotted me.

Ignoring her questions, I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep breath. When I opened my eyes, our eyes locked and I could see worry in her eyes, but I could still see the arousal that had been there before I went to the bar. I exhaled the breath that I had been holding.

"Do you want to get out of here?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'M SORRY FOR THE INCREDIBLY LONG WAIT DONT KILL ME. My internet was being a shit ass and not working for a while, plus like I had a bit of writer's block so that didn't help much either. But I'm finally updating! So I've been talking about a sequel to this story on FF.Net but I might not do that anymore. I have a brief idea for a new story that I think would be fun to write, so i might do that instead of a sequel and just end this story whenever i finish it. I'm not too sure what I'm going to do yet, but for I'll figure it out. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please please let me know what you think! :)

I groaned as the sunlight filtered in through the shades in my room, shining directly in my eyes. I had a pounding headache, which my alarm blaring next to my head wasn't making it any better. I had an awful taste in my mouth and it was extremely dry. I blindly reached my hand out to my bedside table for my phone to shut my alarm off.

My phone clattered to the floor and I growled in frustration. I should  _not_  have drank so much the night before. I attempted to sit up to grab my phone off the floor, but something prevented me from moving. My eyes snapped open and I looked down to see what was on top of me.

It was Karma. A very, very, naked Karma, laying on top of an equally naked me. As the memories from last night resurfaced in my mind, I couldn't stop the fresh wave of arousal that hit me.

* * *

_When we got back to my apartment, we headed straight to the kitchen in search of more alcohol. I needed to find my courage again. The ride home had been silent, but full of sexual tension, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous for what was going to happen._

_I felt like I had back in high school. I was nervous and awkward. The whole ride I was bouncing my leg up and down, and eventually Karma put her hand on my thigh to prevent me from continuing my nervous habit. After high school I was more calm and less awkward in front of girls, but being so close to Karma with her hand on my thigh and that intense look in her eyes made me come undone._

" _Do you want anything to drink? We have wine and vodka," I said to Karma. She had somehow managed in her drunken state to jump up on the counter to sit, and I was actually kind of impressed because there was no way I would have been able to do that in these heels._

" _Vodka, please."_

_I nodded and didn't bother with getting glasses. I unscrewed the cap off and drank straight from the bottle. I smiled sheepishly when a little dribbled down my chin, and I quickly flicked my tongue out to catch the droplets. I smirked when I saw her pupils dilate, and my confidence grew._

_I watched as she bit her bottom lip, and I was so distracted from it that I didn't notice that she grabbed the bottle out of my hands until I saw her take a sip from it. She placed the bottle down on the counter and smiled devilishly at me._

_"Are you going to keep standing there, or are you going to come kiss me?" She asked._

_I cocked an eyebrow and walked forward. I watched as her legs parted, and I settled myself in between them. I placed my hand just under the hem of her dress so it rested on her bare thigh, and I could feel the goosebumps rise on her skin._

_I leaned in so our lips were millimeters apart. I could feel her warm breath against my lips, and I fought the urge to crash our lips together. I wanted to take my time with this. Her arms came up to wrap around my neck, and her hand played with the hair at the nape of my neck._

" _What makes you so sure I want to kiss you?" I teased._

" _Just shut up and kiss me, Amy."_

 _I didn't have to be told twice. I closed the small gap between us and our lips finally met in a passionate kiss. It was so much different from all the kisses we shared back in high school, they had always been soft, quick, and tentative. They had always been in public as well. But this— this was slow and intimate and full of confidence. Karma wasn't just kissing me to get popular anymore, she was kissing me because she_ _ **wanted**_   _to. And I didn't have to hide my attraction anymore, I could just be me and not have to worry about her finding out._

_I swiped my tongue over her bottom lip, and her lips instantly parted to grant me access into her mouth. I tried to pull her impossibly closer when I heard the moan that escaped her lips as our tongues brushed. This wasn't enough for me, I needed more contact, and the only way I was going to get it is if we went to my bedroom. Not that I didn't wish I could just have my way with her right there in the kitchen, but if Lauren ever found out she would probably murder me, and I wasn't about to face her wrath._

_I placed my hands under her thighs and lifted her up off the counter, never breaking the kiss. She gasped in surprise, finally pulling away from the kiss, but wrapped her legs around my waist once she realized what was happening. I looked at her and saw the desire swirling in those hazel eyes. Her dress bunched up around her hips, revealing the lacy white thong she was wearing, and I groaned at the thought of sliding the material off her toned legs and burying my face in between her thighs._

_I managed to get us to my bedroom without tripping, and we immediately plopped down onto the bed in an entanglement of limbs. We both kicked our heels off and I immediately sought out her lips again. Her hands were buried in my hair, tugging almost painfully but I didn't mind. All I cared about was getting her clothes off and making her scream my name all night._

_I found the zipper on the back of her dress and unzipped it. I pulled the fabric from her body so she was laying on my bed in nothing but her thong and matching bra. Her breath hitched in her throat as I trailed my fingertips across her abdomen, and her hands tugged even harder at my hair. I cupped her bra-clad breast with one hand as I placed open-mouthed kisses down her neck._

_I wanted to suck and bite at her neck, I wanted to mark her so in the morning she'll look herself in the mirror in the morning and the memories of the ecstasy she will feel from my hands will flood her mind. But I couldn't because of Liam. I didn't like him, but I wasn't about to be in the middle of their family drama because Karma came running to me to quell her desires. Liam couldn't find out about this, so I had to be careful of not giving Karma any suspicious looking marks on her body._

_I reached behind her and unclipped her bra, tossing it somewhere across the room. I kissed down her chest until I reached one of her breasts. I swirled my tongue around her nipple while I pinched and teased the other with my fingers. Her breathing was erratic and her hips were bucking up into me, trying to get any friction she could, and I knew she needed release._

" _Amy, I need you," she moaned._

" _How badly?"_

" _More than I've ever needed anything in my entire life."_

_I took my own dress off so I was in my underwear, and I pulled her thong off. I bit my lip as I took in her fully naked body. She was absolutely stunning. From the messy hair, the look of pure desire in her eyes, and her soaking wet pussy; everything about her was beautiful._

_I didn't hesitate once her thong was off. I slowly kissed down her inner thigh before diving in and swiping my tongue across her slit. I moaned once I tasted her, causing her hips to jerk off the bed from the vibrations against her cunt, and I wrapped an arm around her waist to lock her hips in place._

_I stroked her clit softly, and from the way her legs shook and she reached for the bedsheets I knew she wasn't going to last long, but I was going to take my time. Years ago I yearned for this opportunity, and I wasn't about to waste it now that I finally had this chance. I made small circles against her clit with my tongue, and I slid two fingers into her._

" _Amy," she sighed. Her hips were bucking into my hand and we had created a steady rhythm. "Get up here and kiss me now."_

_I abandoned my spot in between her legs and kissed my way up her body. She grabbed me by the back of the neck and crashed our lips together, her tongue brushed against my bottom lip immediately and I parted mine to give her entrance. I curled the two fingers I had inside her pussy and hit her g-spot._

" _I'm close, baby. Make me come."_

_I continued to pump my fingers inside of her and brought my thumb up to rub circles on her clit. Her nails dug into my back and she bit down on my shoulder to muffle her screams. I felt her walls clench around my fingers and her back arched up off the bed as she came. I slowed my pace as she began to come down from her orgasm, and I pulled my fingers out once her orgasm subsided._

_I laid next to her and let her breathing return to normal. She wrapped her arm around my waist and cuddled into my side, and if I wasn't so drunk I would probably be uncomfortable with how intimate it felt. But in that moment, I was content to have Karma in my arms, even if it was just for this one night._

_However, a few minutes later when her body shifted and I felt her legs straddle my hips, I knew she had other things on her mind than to fall asleep in my arms. Gone were her doe-eyed hazel eyes, and in their place were eyes that were flooded with desire. As her hands rested on my stomach, tracing random patterns and causing goosebumps to form, and her eyes wandered my almost naked body, I knew this was just the beginning to a very long night._

* * *

Karma stirred awake from my movement, and when her eyes fluttered open they immediately locked with mine. She smiled and leaned up to press her lips against mine in a chaste kiss. It felt weird because now we were sober and she was still looking at me like she had been last night. However, the desire in her eyes dimmed slightly and was replaced with sleepiness, but it was still there.

"Goodmorning," she whispered.

"Uh, hey," I replied, and I internally kicked myself for being so awkward. I licked my dry lips and cleared my throat. "So we should probably talk about last night."

"Can we maybe just save that conversation for a little later?" She asked, and her lips flicked down to my lips. She shifted so she was hovering over me, and her thigh slipped in between my legs and pressed against me. A devilish smirk appeared on her face from the gasp that left my lips. "I have a few things in mind that don't involve much talking."

Her lips were on mine and it made everything real. I was in my bed with Karma Ashcroft kissing me after we spent the previous night drunkenly hooking up, but now that I was sober I should have stopped this from progressing any further but I couldn't. Maybe it was because I couldn't just forget that I was once in love with this girl. I loved her when I couldn't have her and now that I did have her I couldn't let her go. And I had no idea what that meant, my feelings were all over the place but I know I didn't want to leave this bed just yet and have reality sink in.

So as her lips trailed down to my neck, I pulled her closer and tried to create some friction by grinding into her thigh. I moaned when I felt her teeth bite down on my neck, soon to be soothed by her her warm tongue.

We were unfortunately interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on my front door. I groaned, but reluctantly pulled away from her.

"Are you expecting someone?"

"No, but Lauren didn't come home last night so she probably spent the night at Shane's. She might have just forgotten her key," I explained as I pulled on a pair of panties and threw on and oversized t-shirt. I grabbed my phone off the floor, which thankfully the alarm shut off after spending a few minutes being ignored. I checked it and saw that I did in fact have a text from Lauren.

_Lauren: Hey bitch, spending the night at Shane's. Saw you and Karma on the dance floor and assumed you'd be needing some privacy back at home. Don't have sex on my bed or on the couch or I will kill you._

"She slept at Shane's so that's probably just her. Give me a second to let her in and I'll be right back."

I walked out of my room and went to open the front door. Instead of seeing platinum blonde and blue eyes, I saw dirty blonde and emerald green eyes staring back at me. I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me. Realistically I shouldn't have really been surprised, but I had so much to drink and things with Karma escalated so quickly that I completely forgot that I had seen  _her_  last night.

Standing in front of me, looking as beautiful as ever, was Devon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What do you guys think? Are Amy's old feelings for Karma resurfacing, or is she just a heartbroken cinnamon roll too good for this world and not thinking about the consequences of her actions? Perhaps you'll find out in the next chapter ;)


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